‘Private’ Match Method in Destiny

On this week’s Crucible Radio, we’re going to explain how to intentionally match against another fireteam. This is currently driving the competitive PvP scene in Destiny and has resulted in some huge tournaments.

But wait! Scrimmaging isn’t only for top-tier Crucible players – anyone can do them, and they’re incredibly fun.

What’s a Scrimmage?

Since the beginning of Destiny, players have made up for Destiny’s lack of private lobbies or custom games by tricking the matchmaking into pairing up two teams intentionally. This means that two teams of 3 are able to play each other whenever they want – a little extra effort permitting.

Why Are They Worth It?

The biggest misconception about scrimmages is that anyone who participates is elitist, or will demand that only the best players participate. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. Plenty of games take place each day between teams of all skill levels who are only looking to have some fun with friends. Though a set of rules does exist (covered below) you can place as many or as little restrictions on the game. Sometimes you can even play “one weapon only” and find how hilarious a game of 6 No Land Beyonds can be.

It’s been months since any major piece of permanent content was added to the game. Many players have turned to the Crucible in order to continue enjoying Destiny, but even Iron Banner can grow stale at times. Scrimmages are an incredibly fun way to keep Destiny exciting, and to continue having fun playing with your friends. Ultimately, that’s what scrimmages are all about.

How Does it Work?

The matchmaking process can seem tedious, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll never look back. Follow these steps for matching up with friends and you shouldn’t have a problem:

Find 6 players, and decide Fireteam leaders. FT leaders should be close in proximity geographically.

Select the same playlist, and prepare to search for a game at the exact same time. Have one FT leader count down from 3 before pressing launch.

Observe the matching process in the upper left corner, and say out loud what your screen is displaying. What you’ll see are things like “Searching 3/6” or “Evaluating 3/6”. These stages are very important.

To know that you’re about to be placed in a game together, one team will need to be “Evaluating 3/6” while the other will see “Searching 6/6”.

– This is the correct combination for a match. If you do not see these two combinations after about 5 or 10 seconds, back out and try again.

If at any time one team sees “5 / 6” in their matching screen, say “cancel” and back out.

“Rules” ?

In tournaments and among highly competitive players, a set of rules has come about after months of playtime. They exist in order to create a more balanced arena and to limit some of the more “game breaking” elements of the Crucible. Of course, these rules are entirely optional, and only exist to make the game fast, fun, and as fair as possible. Let’s talk about some of the major rules and why they’re so commonly used:

No Heavy Ammo – It might seem like heavy only impacts the game for a small percentage of the entire game time, but we all know how much it can shift momentum in a game. This rule is in place to avoid one or more players getting tens of kills with a heavy machine gun, thus dominating the game based on a single crate of ammo.

No Exotic Armor – It’s such a crucial element of Destiny, but certain pieces of Exotic armor can push play styles too far in one direction. Eliminating exotic armor encourages diversity, and more importantly, avoids completely obnoxious gameplay decisions such as endless Firebolt grenades from Sunsingers with Voidfang Vestments, Shadestep and Keen Scout abuse from Hunters, and the always frustrating fast-rez abilities.

No Duplicate Subclasses – Simply put, this means that there cannot be more than one subclass on a team. If a team is made up of three Hunters, for example, one playe must be a Bladedancer, Nightstalker, and Gunslinger. Similar to the ban of exotic armor, this prevents incredibly strong builds being used in tandem to create an overpowered team. Have you ever come across three Sunsingers in Trials and been incredibly frustrated by endless grenades, or a team running a bubble train with three Defenders? This rule encourages team balance and a variety of playstyles.

It must be reiterated – these rules are always entirely optional. They are encouraged if players want to experience a more fair and balanced Crucible, but if teams choose to do without them scrimmages are still incredibly fun.

So that’s all you need to know to get started – now get out there! If you’re still in love with Destiny and want another way to enjoy the game with your friends, scrimmaging can be a truly excellent way to have fun. And listen to this week’s Crucible Radio for more tips and advice!

A Crucible warrior trying to fight my way up the rankings and host of the Crucible Radio podcast under my better-known pseudonym “Bones.” But don’t let the show fool you – I’m obsessed with everything Destiny has to offer, and I’ll talk about it until you tell me to stop.